Nano,Refurb 4thG,or Zen Micro?

So I'm in a little tight spot at the moment. I am forced to choose between a Nano 199.00 and Zen Micro 179.00 Of course I really want the iPod, and not the Zen Micro. My dad is the source of this terrible struggle. He obviously hates Apple, refuses to use iTunes, or listen to any sensible talk about Apple. I have been eyeing a 4th Gen Refurb, but when I brought up the subject he says "Don't buy refurbished! they are returned for a reason. besides the apple's don't have a Radio tuner." Help! I have until about 11 PM I know how pitiful I sound!

Heck my family was the one that made me like Apple. With a Mac Classic and Powermac 5500. Now our entire family has a Mac except for two work Thinkpads in the house. And my backup laptop which is a thinkpad P3 700Mhz However i would probably use my newton if my powerbook went down. As long as i could find the poweradapter and if the computer still works

Ok, so I still don't think he would go for the refurb. If i had the iPod I would listen to,music not the radio. The only iPod he would pay for would be the 2GB Nano which is not enought to hold all of my music. this he does not know. I really love apple and the iPod but the Zen comes with 8GB and Radio ,and the best reason for him, the Zen will play WMA's. he doesn't want iPod because you have to use "their crappy software" regardless of what a CompUsa employee told him. him- "besides we don't have an Apple computer".
OT- No clue, guess he thinks they're too expensive,less software etc...

Our HP notebook has iTunes 4.7 on it which he never uses. I would show it to him,but he's at work. Maybe I should tape the refurb page I printed on the fridge... and print a page on iTunes for him to see when he comes home.

So I'm in a little tight spot at the moment. I am forced to choose between a Nano 199.00 and Zen Micro 179.00 Of course I really want the iPod, and not the Zen Micro. My dad is the source of this terrible struggle. He obviously hates Apple, refuses to use iTunes, or listen to any sensible talk about Apple. I have been eyeing a 4th Gen Refurb, but when I brought up the subject he says "Don't buy refurbished! they are returned for a reason. besides the apple's don't have a Radio tuner." Help! I have until about 11 PM I know how pitiful I sound!

Click to expand...

If you really want the Nano, the get one -- even the 2GB version.

As others have said, Apple refurbished is a good way to go as well. This will allow you to get a bigger iPod for the same price.

Personally, I would stay away from the Zen Micro. It looks nice and feels good until you try to use the menu/buttons.

As for radio, if I am going to listen to music, I want it to be my music played uninterrupted and free from commercials and DJs. But that's just me. So I would never use my iPod to listen to the radio. Podcasts yes. Regular radio nope.

Actually, the Zen Micro is much more intuitive to use than the iPod, in my opinion, both in physically using the buttons, and scrolling through menus. It also fits in your hand much better than any iPod I have ever used.

The reason why I retired my Zen Micro and went with a 5G iPod was for iTunes. I wanted to be able to sync it with my laptop, and all that sort of stuff.

The program with the Zen is not as nice as iTunes, and revolves around uploading songs to your player without syncing, ie. not on your pc and player at the same time.

Also, who is it for? I may have missed that part...

If he refuses to use iTunes, then a very big selling point of the iPod is gone.

Actually, the Zen Micro is much more intuitive to use than the iPod, in my opinion, both in physically using the buttons, and scrolling through menus. It also fits in your hand much better than any iPod I have ever used.

The reason why I retired my Zen Micro and went with a 5G iPod was for iTunes. I wanted to be able to sync it with my laptop, and all that sort of stuff.

The program with the Zen is not as nice as iTunes, and revolves around uploading songs to your player without syncing, ie. not on your pc and player at the same time.

Also, who is it for? I may have missed that part...

If he refuses to use iTunes, then a very big selling point of the iPod is gone.

Click to expand...

Vertical scrolling is more intuitive theoretically speaking, but not when the pad invariably (unless you're standing still and not on anything moving) detects the replacing of your finger on the pad to scroll down more as a click. The Zen Micro is fairly intuitive in layout but is just not as usable. It has some nice touches over an iPod and the features of course but it's fugly, huge in comparison to the Nano, not that well built and nowhere near as integrated.

To the OP: Dads who have forgotten what it was like to be a kid always steer you towards the better value, more sensible seeming solutions which ends up coillecting dust. Get the iPod or the Nano and enjoy the Apple integration - it's about the music after all, and there's no handier method of enjoying it than the iPod family. I assume you have a Mac, in which case why is your dad still going on about anti-Apple rubbish?

I think I missed this part too. This seems like a silly debate if the iPod is for you. Just put it this way, "Dad, I will not listen to it the zen, it is not what I want. I will listen to the iPod, it fits the form/usability factors that I am looking for, this is for me not you." How simple is that?

Vertical scrolling is more intuitive theoretically speaking, but not when the pad invariably (unless you're standing still and not on anything moving) detects the replacing of your finger on the pad to scroll down more as a click. The Zen Micro is fairly intuitive in layout but is just not as usable. It has some nice touches over an iPod and the features of course but it's fugly, huge in comparison to the Nano, not that well built and nowhere near as integrated.

Click to expand...

Nice summation.

Agree with your points.

What is amazing to me, is how well the Zen Micro feels in your hand until you try to use it. The interface to me is clunky -- especially when compared to the iPod.

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